Who are we?
The solar farm is being developed by YnNi Newydd, a community benefit society established with the purpose of using profit to support other projects providing sustainable community benefits.
Our directors have a range of skills and experience in developing community owned renewable energy projects in Wales and England.
Meet our Directors
Dave Gittins
Dave Gittins – has over 15 years experience working in the public and third sector, attracting and distributing funding for community development, rural regeneration and community renewable energy.
He is currently Head of Sustainability and Climate Change at Severn Wye a sustainability charity working across Wales and South West England.
Dave is also a voluntary director of Dee Valley Trust, a Wrexham based community development organisation managing property to generate surpluses to reinvest into the community.
Grant Peisley
Grant Peisley – a social entrepreneur, localism practitioner and sustainable communities consultant. He is a Founding Director of Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG) who has helped over 60 community groups in northwest Wales on energy projects and recognised in the Wales Green Energy Awards, Renew Wales Awards, Sustain Wales awards and Sustainable Academy Awards Wales for work in Community Energy. Grant is also a Director of Community Energy Wales and YnNi Teg.
Rob Proctor
Robert Proctor is the Business Development Manager for Community Energy Wales and has helped to set up the organisation which now has over 60 members throughout Wales. He is also Programme Director for the award winning Renew Wales programme which has supported over 400 communities in Wales to take action on climate change. He has over 12 years’ experience working in the community and environmental sector and has specialised in Community Energy over the last 3 years.
Stephen Savory
Before retiring from full time employment Stephen Savory was an architect and project manager at Manchester University and Housing Associations in Salford and Liverpool., where his work included energy efficiency projects and programmes. He is a founding director of Chester Community Energy and an active member of Chester Sustainability Forum. Between 2011 and 2017 he was a director of Manchester based New Charter Homes and New Charter Building Company.
John Carrier
John lives in Tattenhall, has a post graduate diploma in environmental decision making and is a certified Project Management Professional, having held senior project manager positions in Shell, where he worked for 34 years, on Refinery, Retail and CO2 reduction projects. After retirement John supported community climate action groups starting in 2007 in Stratford upon Avon, and then, after moving to Chester in 2014, became a member and investor in CCEL, becoming a director in 2022.
Gareth Tucker
Gareth Tucker is a chartered engineer with twenty years’ experience working with renewable energy and low carbon technology, including involvement in a number of community energy projects. He works at Carmarthenshire Energy and is a director of renewable energy developer Seren Energy who have worked with many community energy groups. Gareth is also a director of SCEES, TrydaNi and YnNi Teg.
Day to day project management have previously undertaken by YnNi Teg – another community benefit society which has experience of developing community owned renewable energy projects. Due to the receipt of a WGES grant, we have now been able to take on a PR Manager and Project manager, who will manage day-to-day operations from this point forward.
We are working with several partners who are providing us with specialised services on the development of the solar farm. Our planning consultants are MABBETT, and our lead on design, and grid connection is CHL – who were also instrumental in finding the site.